The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-08-10
"SPLITLOG." " "
AN INDIAN WHO IS A MILLION
ARE RAILROAD BUILDER.
His Early Love for Machinery and
Adventures The Various
Steps by which He Ac-
quired Fortune.

Matthias Splitlog is q full-blooded
Wyandotte Indian, aud was born in an
Indian village in Canada, and shortly''af-
terwards moved to Ohio. While boy
he was apprenticed to carpenter and
millwright, and, although his wages were
only 81 per month, young Splitlog
thought he was getting rich. He i'm
bibed love for machinery and inven-
ventions, which has caused him to lend
helping hand to many a poor fellow
who had useful invention which only
needed money to develop it and make it
pay.
Splitlog's first venture was to build
steamboat, which he did in company with
his brother. They launched the boat
upon the st. Clair River and started in
the fishing trade. Uncle Sam soon be-
came jealous of the boys, and confscated
the boat on charge of smuggling.
In 1912 the Wyandottes, who were the
last of the Indian tribes then in Ohio,
by the treaty of the Upper sandusky,
ceded to the United States their lands in
that State, and received in exchange
land in what is now Wyandotte county:
Kansas. In 1s43 Splitlog came West
with some of his tribe and found, after
his arrival at West Port Landing (now
Kansas City, that he only had fifty
cents in his pocket. He induced an old
Indian to 60 his security for the price of
an axe. With this axe he cut cordwood
for the steamboats, at the rate of twenty.
five cents per cord, and after paying fol
the axe, which cost So, he soon saved
enough to buy apony, and shortly after
| ward we find him with herd of horses.
About 1850 Splitlog was married to the
granddaughter of the old man who went
his security for the price of the axe, and
shortly afterward he began to build
mill. At this time he had no money to
pay for labor, so that he did the work
himself. He selected the timber, cut
and hauled the logs, and then had a
"raising," that is, had his neighbors
come and help him raise the building.
He finished the mill himself, with every.
thing but the burrs. Those would
cost at that time $3.50, and Split.
log had no money; still he was
determined not "to give up the idea
of running mill" When in this di.
lemma a steamboat. which was unload.
ing pair of burrs at the ''landing," &C
cidentally let them fall overheard, and
they sank to the bottom of the Missouri
River. splitlog, learning OF this, con-
tracted with the owner to pay him $25
for the burrs and take them up. himself,
which he eventually did after much
trouble and hard work, and having got.
the burrs out of the river it took but a
short time to get ready to start the mill.
The machinery was rugged fo1 horse
power, and the day that Splitlog started
he hitched in eight unbroken horses from
his herd and earned eighty-fve cents in
cash, and in the evening he gave this
money to his wife and told her to 60 to
Northrup's (Splitlog's present bankers in
Kansas City and buy them something
good to eat, as he now had that much
money that he did not need.
Splitlog's mill was a success, and in
1855 we find him one of the leading men
of his tribe. By the treaty of the Upper
Sandusky the Wyandottes were not al
lowed to ALLEVIATE their lands, but in the
year 1856 q new treaty was made between
the Wyandottes and the United States
which severed the tribal relations of the
Wyandottes.
After the adoption of this treaty Split
log began to speculate in real estate, and,
althoug he can neither read nor write,
he has been one of the most successful
spectators in the neighborhood Of
Kansas City, and is to-day worth over
a million dollars. About fourteen years
ago Splitlog moved to Indian Territory
and located on Elk River, near the Mis-
aouri line, and about four miles from
Tiff City, and recently he became in
terested in silver mine in Mcdonald
County, Missouri. With his charcter-
istic energy he began operations at once.
He hired q mining expert named B. F.
Requa, from Chicago, to superintend the
operations at the mines, and becoming con-
vinced that to develop the mines and build
up the town of Splitlog railroad YVES
necessary, he, together with his partner
in the mines, Moses w. Clay, commenced
negotiating with the projectors of the
New Orleans, Natchez and Fort Scott
Railroad Company, and soon that com.
pany was formed for the purpose of
building a railroad between the terminal
points named in their title and running
by way of Neosho and Splitlog City.
This company being too slow to meet the
vigorous ideas of Splitlog and Clay,
they severed their connection with
the same, and Matthias Splitlog,
Moses w. Clay, George Hubbert and
others organized the Kansas City, Fort
Smith and Southern Railroad Company,
with capital of So, 900, 900, for the pur-
pose of building railroad from Kansas
City to Fort Smith, passing through
Splitlog City and Neosho. This road is
now graded for about thirty miles be-
tween Splitlog City and Joplin, and it IS
only question of few months when
the cars will run southwark from Joplin
to Fort Smith, and Matthias Splitlog, the
millionaire Indian, who is probably the
richest man of his race, will be known
all over the country as the only Indian
railroad IMAM in the United States.
Mr.. Splitlog has five children-four
BOYS and one girl-and now lives at
Splitlog City, Mcdonald County, Mo.
He is like most men of his race, very
taciturn in his habits, seldom speaking
in more than monosyllables, still he is
far from being disagreeablc, because he
can make himself clearly understood in
very few words, and is u good listener
and quick to catch point in the discus
sion of any question; and when he de-